How to Find Out What WordPress Theme a Site is Using
How to Quickly Identify What WordPress Theme a Website Is Using
Have you ever come across a website with a design that made you stop and think, "Wow, I love how this looks!" Or maybe you‘re curious about how a particular site was built and want to peek under the hood. If the site happens to be powered by WordPress, there are a few simple tricks you can use to detect exactly what theme it‘s using. Uncovering this information can be incredibly valuable whether you want to:
- Find and purchase a theme you admire on another site
- Study how a particular design was implemented for inspiration or learning purposes
- Satisfy your curiosity about what‘s running behind-the-scenes of a site you like
As a marketer or website owner, being able to efficiently identify WordPress themes is a powerful skill to have in your toolbox. Fortunately, you don‘t have to be a tech wizard to do this! By the end of this guide, you‘ll be able to easily discover what theme almost any WordPress site employs. We‘ll walk through three different methods you can use:
- Utilizing dedicated WordPress theme detector tools
- Manually locating the theme name in the site‘s source code
- Checking if a site is built with WordPress in the first place
We‘ll provide click-by-click instructions (with screenshots!) for each approach so you can start detecting themes like a pro in no time. Let‘s dive in!
Method 1: Use Online WordPress Theme Detector Tools
The quickest and simplest way to identify a WordPress theme is to pop the website‘s URL into an online detector tool. These handy resources scan the source code and spit out the theme name within seconds. No technical expertise required! While detector tools don‘t work 100% of the time (more on that later), they should be your first line of attack. Here are a few of the best options to try:
- WhatWPThemeIsThat.com
What WP Theme Is That is a popular freemium detector tool that couldn‘t be easier to use. Simply enter the URL of the WordPress site you‘re inquiring about, hit "Detect Theme", and get your answer!
To give it a test run, let‘s see if we can determine what theme HubSpot‘s Blog is using. After entering blog.hubspot.com into the search bar, the tool comes back with this result:
Screenshot showing HubSpot‘s blog theme identified by WhatWPThemeIsThat tool
The theme appears to be "Rainmaker" – a custom theme built by HubSpot. In addition to the theme name, What WP Theme Is That also provides extra details like:
- Homepage demo screenshot
- Theme description
- Author
- Price (if available)
Pretty nifty, right? While the tool isn‘t able to link directly to the theme since it‘s a custom build, it still provides plenty of valuable information with just a few clicks.
- ScanWP.net
ScanWP is another excellent free theme detector that goes beyond just retrieving the theme name. It shares additional data about:
- Active WordPress plugins used on the site
- WordPress version
- Server details (IP address, hosting provider, nameservers, etc.)
After analyzing the inputted site, ScanWP generates a detailed report that looks like this:
Screenshot showing theme analysis report from ScanWP tool
In this test, I searched for the theme used by travel blog JustOneWayTicket.com. ScanWP determines the theme is "Rosalie" by SoloPine. It was even able to find a link to the theme‘s product page where it can be purchased for $49.
Having these supplementary details can be super helpful if your goal is to actually acquire and use the same theme yourself.
- WPThemeDetector.com
Our final recommendation for easy WordPress theme detection is WPThemeDetector.com. While not quite as full-featured as the previous two tools, it makes up for it with lightning-fast results.
To give it a whirl, I searched for the theme used by popular food blog PinchOfYum.com. The detector figured out the theme within milliseconds:
Screenshot showing theme used by Pinch of Yum identified by WPThemeDetector
WP Theme Detector reports that Pinch of Yum uses the "Brunch Pro" theme by StudioPress. No other information is provided, but for quick theme checks this tool does the trick.
Overall, online detectors are the most convenient way to uncover WordPress themes, especially for casual users. But they don‘t always work perfectly…
When Theme Detector Tools Fall Short
In some cases, detector tools might come up empty-handed or misidentify the theme used on a WordPress site. This usually happens when:
- The theme has been heavily customized with unique code added by the site owner
- The site uses a completely custom theme built from scratch
- WordPress theme details are intentionally hidden or obscured
If you strike out with detector tools, don‘t worry! You can still figure out the theme with a little more elbow grease by examining the source code directly.
Method 2: Find the Theme Name Manually in the Source Code
For WordPress sites using custom or concealed themes, you‘ll have to roll up your sleeves and locate the theme name in the page‘s underlying HTML. Don‘t be intimidated though! Even non-programmers can do this with a little know-how.
Here‘s how to access the source code and pinpoint the theme on any web page:
Step 1: Navigate to the WordPress site you want to investigate.
Step 2: Right-click anywhere on the page and select "View Page Source."
Screenshot showing how to view page source in Chrome browser
Step 3: Press CTRL+F (or CMD+F on a Mac) to open the Find search box.
Step 4: In the search box, type wp-content/themes and press Enter.
Screenshot of searching for wp-content/themes in page source
Step 5: Look closely at the code that gets highlighted. You should see a line that looks something like this:
The bolded part after …wp-content/themes/ is the theme‘s directory name, which is typically the same as the theme name!
Screenshot showing theme directory located in source code
Step 6: Copy the theme directory name (in this case "themename") and do a Google search for it.
If it‘s a publicly available theme, you should be able to find where it‘s sold, the company behind it, price, demo pages, and more.
And that‘s it! With this source code sleuthing, you can uncover the WordPress theme of virtually any site. But before attempting this, there‘s one more thing you should check first…
Method 3: Verify the Site Actually Uses WordPress
Imagine going through all the detective work above only to realize the site you‘re researching isn‘t even powered by WordPress! That would be pretty frustrating. Fortunately, there‘s a quick way to check this before wasting any time on theme hunting.
IsItWP is a free tool that instantly tells you whether any given site is built with WordPress or not. It couldn‘t be simpler to use:
Step 1: Go to IsItWP.com and paste in the URL you want to check
Step 2: Click the "Is It WordPress?" button
Screenshot of using Is It WP to check if a site uses WordPress
Within seconds, IsItWP will display a clear "Yes" or "No" answer. It will also show some other helpful details about the site (if available) like:
- Web server
- IP address
- Hosting provider
- SSL certificate info
- Email service provider
- Nameservers
- Analytics and tracking tools
If IsItWP verifies the site does indeed use WordPress, you can confidently proceed with the theme-finding methods outlined earlier. If not, you‘ll have to rely on other means to learn how the site was built.
What to Do After Identifying a WordPress Theme
Once you‘ve uncovered the theme a WordPress site uses, you may be wondering what to do next. Your course of action will depend on your initial goal for finding the theme.
If you were just curious and wanted to know for learning/research purposes, then your mission is accomplished! Use your newfound knowledge to study what makes the theme and site effective in terms of design, layout, functionality, etc.
If you loved the appearance of the site and want to use the same theme yourself, you‘ll need to:
-
Find where the theme is available (ThemeForest, StudioPress, and Elegant Themes are a few popular marketplaces)
-
Purchase and download the theme files
-
Install and activate the theme on your own WordPress site (here are instructions for manually installing a theme)
-
Customize the theme with your own content, images, colors, etc.
Keep in mind that the site you‘re replicating likely put a lot of effort into their design beyond just installing a stock theme. Simply activating the same theme won‘t magically make your site look like theirs. You‘ll still need to put in the work to customize it and make it your own.
It‘s also worth noting that many great-looking WordPress sites use 100% custom themes that aren‘t publicly available. In those cases, even if you can identify the theme, you won‘t be able to download and use it yourself. Your best bet is to find a similar theme and modify it to meet your needs.
The Limitations of Theme Detection
While the WordPress theme-finding methods covered in this guide work the vast majority of the time, they aren‘t completely foolproof. Here are a few scenarios where you may run into issues:
Very Heavily Customized Sites
Some WordPress sites have had their theme files modified so extensively that it‘s difficult for detectors (and humans) to determine the base theme. If the code has been altered beyond recognition, you may not be able to conclusively pinpoint which theme was originally used.
Sites Not Using WordPress
As mentioned earlier, if a site wasn‘t built with WordPress, then looking for a WordPress theme is futile. While WordPress powers over 40% of websites, there‘s still a decent chance the site you‘re investigating uses a different CMS like Squarespace, Wix, Drupal, etc.
Sites Using Completely Custom Themes
Larger companies with bigger budgets often hire agencies or developers to build 100% custom WordPress themes from scratch. These unique themes won‘t be found in any theme directory or marketplace which makes identification tricky.
Despite these limitations, the methods explained here should allow you to successfully identify the WordPress theme on the vast majority of sites. And even if you can‘t determine the exact theme, you‘ll still gain valuable insights into how the site was constructed.
Go Forth and Identify Some WordPress Themes!
You now have all the tools and knowledge needed to detect what WordPress theme nearly any site is using. Whether you want to find a great theme for your own site or are just curious how a site you admire was created, being able to uncover this information is a valuable skill.
The most efficient approach is to first verify the site is using WordPress with the IsItWP tool. Then pop the URL into one of the theme detector tools discussed above. If that doesn‘t yield a definitive answer, try searching the source code for clues.
Even if you encounter a site using a custom or heavily modified theme, examining the underlying code can still provide insight into how the site‘s appearance was achieved. Consider it an opportunity to learn what design elements resonate with you and brainstorm how you might implement something similar.
Ultimately, remember that a good WordPress theme is just a starting point. The best sites combine a well-designed theme with custom touches, quality content, clear navigation, and attention to the small details.
Finding an awesome theme is just the first step – making it uniquely yours is where the real magic happens. So get out there and start identifying some WordPress themes that inspire you. Then put your own creative spin on them to build something remarkable.
